Steven Spielberg has signed a massive deal with Netflix through his Amblin Partners. Netflix has taken a number of recent steps to maintain its position as the top streaming service. With competitors like Hulu, HBO, and Disney+ chipping away at its status, the streamer is in great need of additional content and talent to fend them off.
Meanwhile, Spielberg is among the most recognizable names in Hollywood. Widely seen as one of the greatest directors in cinematic history, he's the brilliant mind behind timeless masterpieces such as Jaws, E.T., and Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg co-founded his entertainment company, Amblin Partners, in 2015 and quickly struck a partnership with Universal Pictures. Universal has distributed several very high profile Amblin films recently, including the Oscar-winning Green Book and 1917. Amblin's search for growth and audiences has led it to another significant partnership.
As reported by Deadline, Spielberg has signed a deal with Netflix. Amblin Partners will produce multiple films per year for the streamer, while continuing to do the same for Universal. In a statement, Netflix's co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos called Spielberg a "creative visionary and leader," while also saying the streamer is "honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven’s cinematic history.” Check out Spielberg's statement on the deal below:
At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways. This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can’t wait to get started with him, Scott [Stuber, Netflix’s Head of Global Film], and the entire Netflix team.
The announcement comes as a surprise to some, considering Spielberg made comments two years ago that were critical of streaming services. However, Deadline notes that "his camp maintains he never said it or anything he might have said was severely taken out of context." It's worth noting that Netflix and Amblin have worked together in the past on projects including The Trial of the Chicago 7, so the director has already shown he has no problem collaborating with the streamer.
The announcement displays Netflix's dedication to growth and improvement. Streaming has always been a competitive field, but with the recent pandemic, the intensity of the competition has skyrocketed. In an effort to compete with Disney+'s plan to release 100 new titles per year, Netflix has been debuting one film per week. The streamer's partnership with Amblin showcases its intent to deliver more content per year and to produce very high quality films. Netflix is particularly in need of a boost after suffering losses with the cancellation of multiple shows including Jupiter's Legacy, Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!, and The Irregulars. None of these shows were cheap to make and illustrate a need for Netflix to step up the quality of its content. With a visionary like Spielberg at its side, Netflix is promising viewers some top notch films in the future.
Source: Deadline